Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) Shares Up 7.8% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) rose 7.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $32.59 and last traded at $32.38. Approximately 191,068 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 40% from the average daily volume of 136,422 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SLP shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Simulations Plus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Simulations Plus in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp started coverage on Simulations Plus in a research note on Monday, July 29th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Simulations Plus in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, BTIG Research cut their price target on Simulations Plus from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Simulations Plus currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.40.

Simulations Plus Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $630.80 million, a PE ratio of 65.35 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $30.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.43.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $18.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.73 million. Simulations Plus had a return on equity of 6.16% and a net margin of 14.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Simulations Plus, Inc. will post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.66, for a total transaction of $553,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,462,584 shares in the company, valued at $95,775,073.44. The trade was a 0.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 60,750 shares of company stock worth $1,905,655 in the last quarter. 20.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simulations Plus

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Simulations Plus during the first quarter worth $208,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Simulations Plus by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,135,105 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,710,000 after acquiring an additional 12,636 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Simulations Plus in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Simulations Plus by 5.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,048 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Simulations Plus in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,082,000. 78.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Simulations Plus

Simulations Plus, Inc develops drug discovery and development software for modeling and simulation, and prediction of molecular properties utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning based technology worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Software and Services. It offers GastroPlus, which simulates the absorption and drug interaction of compounds administered to humans and animals; and DDDPlus and MembranePlus simulation products.